Tag Archives: Microsoft

Sun buys MySQL

16 Wednesday Jan 2008

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Wow, Sun is buying MySQL.

Now, I’ve never been mistaken for a Sun fan.  I wrote about their continued slide into irrelevance when they changed their stock symbol to JAVA (huh?).  That move was panned by everyone, including the most avid Sun-philes.

This move, however, is great for Sun, but does it make any sense for MySQL?  I didn’t even know that MySQL was for sale (though, clearly they were).  I just figured a company that was more… um… relevant would pick them up.

But if you think about it, it didn’t make too much sense for the major players who are picking up companies right now.  Oracle would have loved to do it, but I’m sure MySQL would have balked.  The same goes for Microsoft.  Google would not bother to acquire something as mundane as plumbing.  Yahoo has enough trouble right now, and also is not interested in plumbing.

One interesting option would have been Amazon.  They continue to roll out web services that cater to startups; it would have been impressively bold of them to plop down the cash for the most popular database for startups, too.

But Sun takes it.  It makes sense.  Sun can bring their shiny new toy into the enterprise conversations they’re having with the big IT departments that MySQL wants.

Let’s just hope they don’t screw it up.

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I want a Microsoft Surface!

30 Wednesday May 2007

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The coverage is everywhere and the demos are fantastic.  The technology is not the most important thing here; it’s actually been out a while and in use (I’ve been drooling over it for a while).

The important thing today is that Microsoft is taking it, productizing it, and moving their marketing muscle behind it.  MS has always said they want to move into the home but the only real success they’ve had is getting users to buy desktops for the home.  Their other products, like Media Center, haven’t been successful.  No one wanted to buy a $1000 set top box and no one wanted to set it up.  MS (or one of their partners) should have just sold a preconfigured appliance (like a Tivo).

The amazing thing MS has done is turned this “Wow”-inducing technology into a $5,000-$10,000 product. That price point is well within the range necessary for early adoption at businesses (as is their plan) and seems like it will be well within the range for early home adoption a few years after.

Surface’s biggest challenge for getting into the mass-market home is also it’s biggest advantage. There is no analogue to this appliance/device/gadget/piece of furniture.  Is it a better computer?  Not exactly.  Is it a better coffee table?  Yes, but not what people expect in a coffee table and much more expensive.  Consumers understood how a plasma/LCD TV for $2000 was a better TV.  People understood how a $400 Tivo was a better VCR/Cable box (though that took a little while for people to get).  It’s going to take a good while for consumers to understand why they should plop down $2000 (if they can get it to that price) after they get past the “Wow” factor.

Then again, there’s no competitor. Users didn’t want to buy/set up a Media Center PC because Tivo was better, easier, cheaper at what people wanted to use it for.  There’s no comparison here, so MS has some time to develop the killer apps for the consumer.

Whatever they come up with, I want one.

VMware vs. Microsoft

25 Sunday Feb 2007

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Interesting article about the upcoming battle between VMware and Microsoft.  I like the parallels drawn between it and the Netscape/IE war.  Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s hard to bet against MS in the long run.  Years ago, people said MS couldn’t play in the server space, and now ASP.NET is a strong, viable server technology.  Waiting and seeing…

(BTW: I took a class at Stanford from VMware founder Mendel Rosenblum.  Nice guy, but not a great teacher…)

Google Checkout: Why will users use it?

29 Thursday Jun 2006

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Google announced Google Checkout today, and all the world’s a buzz about it. But like TechCrunch, I’m not sure yet why end users would use it.

Now, I see a huge reason why merchants will use it. Merchants who use AdWords (which is pretty much everybody) will get the little shopping cart “I accept Google Checkout” icon next to their ad. And that is huge advantage. With Google’s very stark search results pages, a little icon does do a lot to attract attention. And of course, the more clicks you get on your ad, the higher your ad tends to float…

Forget the cheaper transaction fees ($0.20 per + 2%) or the credit against those transaction fees that AdWords users get. That doesn’t really amount to much unless a lot of customers actually use Google Checkout. The real merchant benefit is this little icon which will make their ad much more noticeable on the page.

But again, why would customers use it?  There have been a lot of online wallets before (like Yahoo) and none of them have taken off. Paypal is not a simple online wallet and, I think, has real benefit to end users (direct person-to-person money transfer). Even then, most customers’ interaction with Paypal is just a place to enter their credit card so someone else can receive money. In the case of Google Checkout, the end user can’t do simply that. They have to use their Google info to pay.

 So far, I only see two reasons that end users will use it:

  1. They are intrigued by that little icon next to all the merchants that they see, and they decide to sign up for it.
  2. They want to use it just because it’s Google.

Will it work?  I don’t know. The public uses a lot of Microsoft stuff just because it’s Microsoft, but then again, they own our OS and browser.

Anyway, I can see a lot of merchants integrating with it to get the little icon on their ads, but not getting a lot of transactions through it, unless Google provides more end user benefits.

Update: John Tokash has written a great review. He thinks Google Checkout’s shielding of your email address has a ton of value, but note how it will only forward the email to your gmail account. Tricky…

Warren Buffet gives it up to Bill Gates. Bravo!

26 Monday Jun 2006

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Everyone is commending Warren Buffet and Bill Gates for their philanthropic efforts. I don’t know who am to commend them as well, but bravo!

A major problem we have in this capitalist society is that wealth accumulates. Everybody knows this (except the trickle-down supporters and complete free-market purists) and what you’re left with a totally unbalanced society where people like Buffet collect ridiculous amounts of wealth. He’s an example of how you can use money to make more money without actually producing anything.

So I’m ecstatic hear that he’s giving away so much. That’s the only way that the poorest in the world will get help because the free-market won’t do it.

Now if we can only get the Waltons to do it. Sam left all his money to his kids and they pretty much just sit on it.